Shellworks

Shellworks is a London-based biomaterials company founded in 2019, building the next generation of packaging materials that perform like plastic but leave no lasting environmental trace. The company's flagship material, Vivomer, is produced by microorganisms that ferment second-generation feedstocks — principally used cooking oil — through a biological process analogous to fermentation. The resulting biopolymer can be processed into rigid or flexible packaging formats using standard manufacturing equipment, including blow moulding, making it a genuine drop-in for personal care, cosmetics, and consumer goods packaging.

Vivomer is certified OK HOME compostable by TÜV Austria, with visible decomposition within 12 weeks and complete breakdown within 52 weeks, leaving zero persistent microplastics or toxic residues. The material addresses a gap that existing alternatives have failed to fill: paper and cardboard perform poorly in wet or premium applications; glass and aluminium are heavier and more carbon-intensive; and most bioplastics require industrial composting conditions that consumers cannot access. The critical commercial milestone Shellworks reached before its Series A was cost parity with aluminium and glass at only around five million units of production.

Brand partnerships demonstrate real-world adoption: Wild (stocked at Tesco, expanding to Target US), Sonsie Skin (founded by Pamela Anderson), Phil's personal care products (Whole Foods Market), and Hair by Sam McKnight are among active partners with products in Vivomer packaging on major retail shelves today. Shellworks was co-founded at Imperial College London's Innovation Design Engineering programme.

Shellworks raised $15 million (£11 million) in a Series A in March 2026, led by Alter Equity, with participation from Nat Friedman (NFDG), JamJar Investments, Kibo Invest, Press Reset Ventures, Founder Collective, LocalGlobe, and Third Sphere. The funding will expand Shellworks' global production network and establish regional manufacturing in the US and EU.